Chapter 2

“It looks pretty weak,” Sid sighed.

Freddy’s heart sank.

“But…” Sid held up one of Freddy’s headshots and looked beyond the picture at the man.

Freddy held his breath again.

“But you got the look.”

Freddy didn’t know what Sid meant by that exactly. But it sounded positive.

“I think we can do business.”

Freddy let out the breath he was holding. “Thank you, Mr. Galloway. I won’t disappoint you.”

“Well, you’re welcome, but remember our arrangement is a two-way street. You need me, and I need you. If we work well together we’ll both win. By the way…call me Sid.”

“All right, Sid. But I really do appreciate your giving me this chance.”

Sid nodded his response as he pressed the intercom button on his desk.

“Yes, Mr. Galloway?” came the voice of the pretty blonde receptionist that Freddy had met earlier when he arrived for his appointment. She had put him at ease with her friendly, encouraging smile.

“Janet, bring in those contract forms we worked up for Freddy. And, the actor’s union applications, too.”

Sid had explained that Freddy would be eligible to join SAG, AFTRA, and Equity after he had done some work in the profession beyond that listed on his résumé, so he needed to study the requirements for membership.

Janet came into the office with the requested paperwork. She smiled at Freddy and gave him a thumbs up. When she left Sid got up and came around his desk and sat next to Freddy. He went over the major clauses and points of the contract. He encouraged Freddy to take it to a lawyer, but also stated that it was a standard contract that had been used many times before.

Freddy’s head was swimming by the time Sid was through. He had no sense for this end of the profession and was more than willing to trust Sid after what he and Russ had discovered about franchised agents online.

Having finished with that part of their meeting, Sid said, “Let’s get down to the business of how I’m going to be selling you to the studios.”

Freddy nodded although the term ‘selling him’ made him slightly uncomfortable.

“I’ll be honest with you. Your résumé is pretty pitiful. Homegrown actors are a dime-a-dozen no matter how good they are. But, that being said, I think you’ve got something that’s gonna work in your favor. First you canact. Your DVD showed that. Most of the guys that come in here are just handsome hunks who couldn’t act in a first grade Christmas pageant. But hell, that supporting cast made you look bad,” Sid said, shaking his head. “We’re gonna have you shoot some scenes with some of my other clients so I can send some quality footage to the studios.”

“Do I pay for this?” Freddy asked.

“The price of fame. Ya want it…ya gotta be willing to pay for it,” Sid laughed. “Yeah, you cough up for it. But the cost will be shared by the others in the shoot, and it shouldn’t be too bad. And you can deduct it from your taxes. Janet will give you a breakdown. You got any financial resources?”

“Some,” Freddy said hesitantly.

Freddy had a small inheritance from his grandmother and he had a job as a bank teller. Russ had also said he would help out if he needed anything. He briefly considered asking his parents to help out but quickly dismissed that idea. His mother had been against his leaving Iowa and moving to California. She told him his dream of becoming a motion picture actor was foolhardy. She added that if he had any sense he’d go into working at the car dealership with his father. His dad had never approved of his interest in acting, expressing the opinion that actors were all queers and would turn a man into one if given the chance. This lurking homophobia exploded when Freddy had come out to them. His father had stalked out of the house and slammed the door behind him.

“Good.” Sid got up and walked around his desk, picked up a stack of papers, and brought them to Freddy. “Here are four scripts. The parts you’ll be playing are marked. They are pretty diverse; it should show your range of abilities. Take ‘em home and study ‘em. We’ll shoot next weekend.”

Freddy took the scripts and glanced over them. He was glad they would be doing this on the weekend. That way he wouldn’t miss work.

“Next selling point.” Sid was moving on. “I’m gonna present you as the fresh-faced, squeaky-clean, totally innocent, but terribly sexy new-kid-on-the-block. You’re fuckin’ good lookin’, my man, but I suppose you know that already.”

Freddy knew he was handsome. He had been aware of that since he was a kid. Everyone had told him he was. Still, having Sid say it in the context of ‘selling him’ as an actor made him blush.

“Good, good,” the man said. “Blushing’s good. Fresh, modest, but sexy and handsome as hell. Perfect. The new heartthrob of millions of American women.” Sid smiled.